Cyberonics device improves heart function after Boston flop

By Ben Hirschler BARCELONA (Reuters) - A nerve stimulation device from Cyberonics improved cardiac function in heart failure patients in a small clinical trial, in contrast to an unsuccessful study backed by Boston Scientific. Both companies are trying to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure, in which the heart fails to pump blood efficiently, by stimulating the vagus nerve – a superhighway connecting the brain to the rest of the body. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which involves delivering mild electrical pulses to the nerve in the neck, is already used successfully to treat severe epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression.



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